Which to use
“cavar” and “chamar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,601
- “cavar” frequency rank
- #884
- “chamar” frequency rank
- 24485
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cavar | chamar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | abrir ou revolver a terra com enxada ou sacho; escavar; sachar | solicitar a atenção ou a aproximação de alguém ou de algum animal (com palavras ou sinais) |
Where the eye mixes cavar and chamar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cavar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against chamar's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: cavar vs chamar
A purely visual mix-up. cavar (/kɐ.ˈvaɾ/) and chamar (/ʃɐ.ˈmaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24485, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cavar is recorded at frequency rank #23,601, classified as averb, pronounced /kɐ.ˈvaɾ/. chamar is at rank #884, tagged as averb, pronounced /ʃɐ.ˈmaɾ/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 24485, this pair ranks #45,121 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cavar vs chamar
Shared letters: acr. Private to "cavar": v. Private to "chamar": hm.
"cavar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "chamar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cavar" and "chamar" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "cavar" or "chamar" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cavar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chamar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #45,121 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cavar" and "chamar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cagão vs cavar". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #45,121 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.